Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-03-17
BEAUTiFY THE FARM.



places so as to render them productive
they generally seek to beautify them.
Ihey erect buildings, on which they
expend considerable money by way of
ornamentation. They build orna-
mental fences about their house wards,
ana sometimes in front of their farms,
Ihey substitute well-made gates for
oars In the openings in fences, and Law
out walks through their grounds The
old-fashioned well-sweep gives place to
atasty pump. and a trough provided
with a waste-ripe is substituted for the
unslghtly half-hogshead. Not unfre-
quently ornamental bridges are built
over creeks and streams, and the
bitches by the side of the road are
properly sloped and kept free from
sticks and stones. More attention is
gwen to keeping all the fields and
pastures in good order, so they will
present an attractive appearance. In
most cases paint is applied to build
ngs and fences with no sparing hand.
Ihe expenditure of time and money in
fixing up the place so as to render
1t beautiful is often quite large, and if
the results obtained are not the best
possible they are after all very good,
as taste and skill in decoration are
only obtained by careful study and
practice
Creditable as are the attempts OF
farmers to beautify their places, it
must after .au be acknowledged that
they could be directed in other WAYS
to much better advantage. Trees are
the cheapest as we'll as the most beau
tiful ornaments of country as well as
of town places. The original cost of
them is generally very small. and they
are self-sustaining after they are once
established in their new positions A
large sum is annually required to keep
ornamental buildings. bridges and
fences in repair. Paint wears off in a
few years, wooden fences rot and
wooden bridges fall Even brick crum-
bles and most kinds of stone disinte-
CRATE. A well-constructed walk calls
for constant care and labor to keep it in
good condition. A road ditch requires
attention to prevent 1t from becoming
unsightly. But trees ordinarily repair
the injuries that are done to them.
They grow while other things decay.
Their beauty increases while that of
most objects diminishes. No protec-
ton is required for their trunks and
branches. Their foliage presents fresh
colors every spring far more beautiful
and varied than any painter can APP
ply. In most cases it changes in the
fall to be in harmony with the other
objects that comprise the landscape.
That of evergreens does not change,
as it is one of which the eye never
tires. The beautiful green needles of
the pine, fir, spruce and hemlock
stand out mid the sunshine of June.
the darkness of December and the
gloom of March. There is no oc-
casion for changing the perfection of
beauty.
Deciduous trees give charm to
places even when their branches are
denuded of foliage. Each variety has
some distinctive characteristic which
heightens the beauty of others both by
cooperation and by contrast. The
oak, ash, hickory and walnut are al
ways grand and stately, while the elm,
birch and willow are always graceful.
Trees form the most lasting attrac-
tions of any place. They are the de-
light of childhood. the joy of middle
life and the solace of old age. The
memory of them is carried to distant
lands, and it is always pleasant one.
A tree is beautiful in every stage of its
growth, and it constantly grows in
beauty from the time the seed-sprout
appears above ground till its branches
are stretched over roods of land. The
most charming places in city or
country are those that are beautified
by trees. The roads on which people
most delight to ride are those that are
bordered by stately trees. The most
beautiful landscape is the one that af-
fords view of the finest trees. A
solitary tree serves to break the
monotony of prairie farm. A grove
on it is what fine picture is to room.
A fine shelter belt is like an orna-
mental border to vegetable garden.
Trees attract song birds, which furnish
constant music during the summer
months. The greater variety of trees
on place, the greater will be the va
riety of birds that will seek them for
pun poSS "a hOSoo "hAi AO1A"
ing their young.
The best way to fit up place with
view of selling it at a large price is to
set out beautiful trees in suitable
places. Trees are wanted by every
would-be purchaser. 1t is impossible
to erect or ornament buildings that
will please the taste or satisfy the
wants of all persons Every person
has his own ideas about house, barn
and other farm buildings. If they buy
a farm they are quite likely, if they
have the means, to make alterations in
all the buildings among the first things
they do. They will remove partitions
and erect new ones They will stop up
some of the doors. and put in new VIM
dows. They may change the construc-
tion of the barn, tear down the pig |
pen. and move the granary; but there
are some things they will not disturb |
or wish to change. They will leave
the row of elms along the roadside. |
the shelter belt of Norway spruces, the |
GREAT sycamore that shades the spring. |
the cluster of naples in the sheep past
ure. the towering hawthorn by the
oath to the well and the group of frs |
in the front yard. These were attrac-
tions that drew them to the place. and |
caused them to pay goodly price for
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